LEON & AERITH : The Untold Story
by Farah
Summary: Chapter 5 is up!! XD A Leon/Aerith pairing, also a bit Leon/Yuffie if you noticed.This is my twisted version of how Squall converted into 'Leon'.The tale took place seven years before the game ends. R&R, please!^^
1. CHAPTER 1: The Lion And The Ninja

**Authors note:** This is my first fanfic. The characters don't belong to me. But the story does. `_^ We all know that the present Leon/Squall is 25 and Yuffie is 16 years old according to the KH character profiles. I assume Aerith is 23, a year older than her age stated in the FFVII game manual. English isn't exactly my first language, but I'm exited to share this fiction with you guys. Okies, enjoy the story! ^.^ 

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**LEON & AERITH : The Untold Story**

**CHAPTER 1: The Lion And The Ninja**

Hallow Bastion, a place where he spent most of his life as a thief, together with his group of bandits. They were travelling in stolen van, a quite comfortable one. 

His name is Squall Leonhart, known as the expressionless loner among the gang. The 18 year old youth glanced over his teammates, six of them including himself- Seifer the group leader, Seifer's girlfriend Rinoa, Zidane the monkey tailed wise guy, Zell the chicken wuss and Yuffie, a restless 9 year old girl who recently joined them a couple months ago. 

Squall recalled how they first found Yuffie. He caught her while she was attempting to snatch his sacred weapon, the gunblade! 

"Silly brat! You can't even carry that thing!" Seifer scolded the little Yuffie. 

"What a tiny creature like you doing out here all ALONE?" Rinoa asked. 

"Children are not suppose to talk to strangers," Yuffie stucked her tongue out at the irritated Seifer. 

"A runaway kid she is," Squall said, judging from her dirty clothes and not so pleasent smell. She reminded him of himself when he was a 12 year old boy who ran away from the orphanage. 

"Really? Come with us then, kid," 

"Seifer! Are you serious?" 

"Don't worry, Rinoa. We have puberty boy here to take care of her," Seifer threw it at Squall. 

"Whatever.."Squall answered with a dull tone. 

Yuffie turned out to be a valuelable member in the group. She was a fast learner in martial arts and a talented pickpocket. Somehow, Yuffie was closer Squall compared to the others who seemed to be annoyed with her 'overhyperness'. At least, Squall didn't pushed her away like everybody else did. As a child, Yuffie admired Squall's amazing swordsman skills, his courage and his calm, cool attitude. 

" I'm gonna be like you one day! No, I want to be stronger, better than you, Squall. I'm going to be a uh...ninja! That right! A great, unbeatable NINJA! You'll see," Yuffie told him once. 

For such a young age, Yuffie's spirit amused Squall. To him, she was more than just a kid sister. She was very special. He had determined to protect her, teach her to be strong, agile and fearless. 

"Earth to Squall. We've arrived, buddy!" Zell interrupted his daydream. 

"There it is, our target- Hallow Bastion Museum!" Seifer pointed out. The museum was filled with original, valuelabe paintings they were going to steal. 

"Each painting must be worth a fortune!" Zidane claimed. 

"Looks pretty quiet in there," Rinoa alerted. 

"Things don't look very safe. Rinoa and Squall, come with me. The rest of you, stay guard. Send us a signal if you suspected anything," Seifer ordered. Zidane, Zell and Yuffie nodded as Seifer's team sneaked into the museum. 

Somewhere inside the museum, Aerith Gainsbrough was searching for someone. At the same moment, she couldn't help but to admire the beautiful paintings showcased there. The 16 year old teenager looked very sweet in her favourite pink sleeveless outfit. 

"Excuse me, Miss" someone patted Aerith from behind... 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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**End note: **Woohoo! Finished the first chapter! What do you guys think? Too short? Forgive me for the horrible grammar, spellings and VERY simple language usage. I can't believe I took a whole chapter to elaborate Squall & Yuffie's relationship. These two are just so cute! They remind me of Aoshi & Misao, another silent swordsman & hyperactive ninja! Not to mention the age gap. See the resemblance? ^^ More to come! 

Please tell me what you thought about this chapter. I admit I'm not too good in writing but I'm trying as hard as I can. So comments and pointers are always welcome! 

**Next-** Squall & Aerith first meeting in a funny, unlikely incident! ^_^ 


	2. CHAPTER 2: First Contact

**Authors note:** One review so far. Thanks for the pointers, . So how about the others? Hope to here from you guys too, especially from Leon/Yuffie and Leon/Aerith fans ^.^ Enjoy this chapter! 

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**LEON & AERITH : The Untold Story**

**CHAPTER 2: First Contact**

"Museum closes during lunch hour, Miss. Please leave," the museum worker said as Aerith spun around. _No wonder this place is deserted._

"But the art gallery owner, Sir Auron is expecting me," 

"Find him in his office then!" he raised his voice. _Boy, this guy definitely has a short fuse! _The worker left, leaving Aerith all alone again. A painting of a lion caught her attention. _So fierce, so powerful._

The worker headed to the museum's storage. As he entered, three unknown figures were facing him. They didn't look very friendly. 

"Hey, you're not suppose to be he... unghh!!" the worker felt a deadly fist againts his stomach and collapsed. 

"Nice going, Seifer. Ooohh, you're soo manly!" Rinoa cheered for him. Squall began removing the worker's clothes. 

"Rinoa and I will search for the gallery's related documents. Squall, survey the guests here. Find out which paintings are really valuelable. Now, get to work," Seifer & Rinoa sneaked out while Squall put on the worker's uniform. 

Later, Squall browsed the museum. Nobody seemed to be around except for a female dressed in pink, staring at a picture of a lion at the corner of the hall. She was unaware of his presence behind her. Like it or not, she was the only one who would provide him with any information for now. 

He approached nearer. Aerith who was still facinated with the painting, stepped backward to get a wider view of the picture. Before Squall could stop her, Aerith's heel accidently landed on his foot! 

"Aarrgh!" he screamed loud enough to suprise her. Squall knelt, checking his foot. _That really hurts. She sure has really BIG feet! Or maybe because of her boots._

"Oh, my! I'm sorry," dumbfounded, Aerith quickly knelt and started messaging his wounded foot. Squall on the other hand was pretty pissed off with this humiliation. He raised his head to get a closer look on the girl. She wasn't just ANY girl. She was beautiful! The most beautiful girl he ever seen. She was even prettier than Rinoa. "Feel better? I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to.." 

Aerith raised her head and shocked to see the victim gazing at her. He was a very good looking young man with shiny dark brown hair and dreamy eyes. He was stunning and she couldn't take her eyes off him either! Squall had never felt this way to any woman and he hadn't been THIS close to any person. Their face was only an inch way. He began to lean over while she waited for his lips to reach hers. 

A sound of footsteps stopped him from doing so. Instantly, Squall was already on his feet and managed to make his escape, leaving Aerith on the hall floor. She was slightly dissapointed and it suprised her why she felt that way. 

_When you walk away_   
_You don't hear me say please_   
_Oh baby, don't go_   
_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight_   
_It's hard to let it go_

She wanted to see him again. She looked around and noticed Sir Auron was coming. 

" Sir Auron! I've been looking for you. Forgive me, I'm late." she got up "My name is Aerith Gainsbrough. I'm a writer for the Hallow High school newspaper. We have an appointment, an interview remember?" 

"Oh, yes. Come, child. We'll discuss it in my office," Aerith followed him. Squall who was hiding behind a pillar, had been spying them all along. _'Aerith'... At least I catch her name. Uh.. what am I thinking? The mission.. Interview..This could be useful._

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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**End note: **Urgh! Another short chapter, slightly longer than the first one. How do you like this chapter? Still waiting for your reviews. I never wrote mushy stuff like these. The Squall and Aerith's scene must be really weird. @_@ See you in the next chapter! ^_^ 


	3. CHAPTER 3: Distractions

**Authors note:** Sorry to bump this fic like this. I just have to reupload this chapter. Way too much grammatical and spelling errors. I'll be more careful next time. Gomen! Thank you everyone for the wonderful reviews. Keep 'em coming. I took your advices, more character interactions this time! 

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**LEON & AERITH : The Untold Story**

**CHAPTER 3: Distractions**

At this range, it was almost impossible to listen to Aerith and Sir Auron's conversation from the outside of the office. To make matters worse, Squall couldn't even predict when will the interview be over. And by realizing all the difficulties arised, he returned to the van. There were still chances to grab any info from Aerith somehow. 

"Hey, you're back, " Zell said as Squall turned up "That's pretty quick. Where's Seifer and Rinoa?" 

"I'm not done yet. Need more time," Squall explained "Listen, I'll wait here, in the museum until I could dig up more information. If Seifer returned before I do, leave. I'll contact and locate you guys later," 

"Whatever you say, buddy," Zell nodded, not bother to argue about it. 

"Want me to stay too, Squall?" Zidane disrupted "I'm missing the fun already," 

"No, the three of yo.. Yuffie?" Squall looked around. Yuffie was no where in sight "Where's YUFFIE?" 

"Huh? I could swear the kid was right here a minute ago, " Zell claimed, pretended not to panic "Perhaps she went inside," he said, facing the museum. 

"Damn! Look, plan has changed. Leave me AND Yuffie!" Squall demanded and hurriedly dashed off. 

More than an hour later, Squall failed to detect any trail of Yuffie. To his dissapointment, Squall assumed that he was unable to do anything about it for the time being. It wasn't the first time Yuffie acted by her own like this again, but Squall was furious. Two girls, Aerith and Yuffie had put him in a situation he hated the most -distraction during a mission! He headed back and it suprised him to see Aerith made her exit out of the office at the same time. The interview was over. 

Squall hid at the rear of a corner, spying on her from behind again. He drew closer and happened to see Aerith placed her notebook into her sling bag. _The notes! Everything must be in there! _Just before Aerith managed to zip her bag, a small hooded stranger advanced towards her. 

"Would you like to buy a flower?" the mysterious person offered. Squall's eyes widened in suprise. He reconized the voice anytime, _it was Yuffie!_ "Only 1 munny per-flower" 

"Oh, that's so sweet. I'll take two" Aerith handed her 5 amount of munnies. Understanding Yuffie's move, Squall skillfully filched the notes from the bag, too quick for Aerith to notice. Then, he was gone "Keep the change, alright?" 

"Thank you so much. Hope we can see each other again," Yuffie waved and watched Aerith took her leave._You've been a BIG help_. 

From the window, Squall could see Aerith crossing the streets. He only meant to look briefly at her, but his eyes refused to leave her sight. He could only gaze after her, wondering when he would meet her once more. _Yuffie's right. Hope we can see each other again.._. 

Later, Squall and Yuffie regrouped. She expected a gratitue but Squall scolded her instead. 

"Don't you ever run off like that again, young lady." he said, harshly. 

"I was only trying to help," Yuffie winked "Besides, I've finally proven that I CAN become in handy next time," she protested, remembering the all the lessons she learned from Squall. It bothered her that Squall had trained her for months but he never allowed her to involve in one of Seifer's big operation. 

"Pull another stunt like that and there might be no 'next time'!" Squall replied without thinking. The words caused her smile to fade and the expression left Squall to realize he was being unfair towards the young girl. _Why was he so angry anyway? Was it really because of Yuffie's behaviour or because of the fact that he would never see Aerith again?_

"Yuffie, I..I'm sorry," Squall whimpered, mused to himself. 

"Fooled you!" laughing, Yuffie playfully drew back, keeping her distance away from him "Yey! Squall is sorry. Now I don't have to apologize. Aww...You're getting soft, Squall. Bad for you," 

"Bad girl. Bad.. baaad girl," he raised an eyebrow and started chasing after her.   


  


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"You're late, Squall, " Seifer said as Squall and Yuffie arrived at their new hideout. 

"Never thought some psyco like you would be distracted by some pink-dressed girl," Rinoa elbowed Squall. And by that, he knew she meant Aerith. Seifer and Rinoa MUST have discovered his 'little scene' with Aerith. Embarassed, Squall responded with a silence. 

"Really? What happened?" Yuffie asked, a little dissapointed that she didn't sneak in earlier. 

"Aw.. C'mon, Squally, " Zidane added with a teasing look "Tell us! You know how I feel 'bout chicks, the knockout ones ecpecially," 

"Well, I ain't interested. Dames are trouble. Right, Squall? " said Zell with his arms crossed. He recieved more silence as his response which forced Zell to break the silence "Remember when Seifer put Rinoa in charge of the operation to hijack the president on Galbadia's train last month? Man, that mission screwed up really good I tell ya," 

"Hey! You got something againts me, Chicken Wuss?" Rinoa stood up abruptly. 

"Don't call me Chicken Wuss!" Zell argued back. 

"You deserve it, meany!" Rinoa yelled out as Zelli glared at her. 

"Hey, Rinoa. If you ever need some cheerin' up, you know where to find me, " Zidane interrupted them both. 

"Drop it, all of you!" Seifer ordered in his best gruff voice. Then he turned to Squall. "So, what did you find out, Squall?" 

"I'm not sure yet. Take a look at these notes," Squall handed Seifer the notes he'd stolen. _Aerith's notes. Aerith, the girl he had not known for half a day _"We might find something here," he continued, trying to get her out of his head. 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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**End note: **That's all for now. Not really my best piece for this one. REVIEW please, anyhow. ^_^ 


	4. CHAPTER 4: All Friends All Weirdos

**Authors note:** Long rant today. To my fellow reviewers, I can't thank you enough! You guys are so wonderful that I decided to draw Kingdom Hearts gift arts for all of you. (Paste the image URLs into your address bar. Your browser should take you to the pictures.) Tell me if you want more ^_^ 

**Gift Art 1: **(http://angel-farah.netfirms.com/pix/LeonAerithGiftArt.jpg )   
Dedicated especially to '**Leon & Aerith: The Untold Story**'** reviewers. **Soft Swirl, Rikku24, Snowri, RyukiData, Alan, Theyreallyloveme, Serenity, Chan and the anonymous ones, thank you all!****

**Gift Art 2: **(http://angel-farah.netfirms.com/pix/LeonYuffieGiftArt.jpg )   
Yep, I'm a both **Leon/Yuffie and Leon/Aerith fan.** Love all fics involving these pairings. 

I just wanted you to know how much I appreaciate your comments and opinions. Keep 'em coming! ^.^ Some readers remind me to consider the actual Kingdom Hearts ending- the Cloud/Aerith thingie. Alright, honestly I DO! But you have to keep in mind that my story takes place 7 years before the game ends. I figure something bound to happen between Leon and Aerith during all those years! So, I hope you don't mind this pairing for a while. 'A while'? Oh, no! `_^ 

Here's my latest chapter, the longest so far ^^. 

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**LEON & AERITH : The Untold Story**

**CHAPTER 4: All Friends All Weirdos**

"What? You lost the notes? All of 'em?" Tifa Lockheart retorted as Aerith nodded in guilt. They were having a soda at 7th Heaven, a restaurant owned by Tifa's father. Fancy food and snacks, good place for kids to hang out. Tifa was a year younger than Aerith with long raven hair and a figure that guys loved to drool over. She and Aerith were both quite close since they only lived next door. "Are they were stolen or did you happen to drop them somewhere?" 

"I can't tell, Tifa. But there's no use mourning about it. I just jot down whatever stuff I could remember from the interview," Aerith sighed heavily, trying her best to sound positive. "Come to think of it, I should have brought my recorder along," 

"Guess you never expect anything like this could happen to _you_, huh?" Tifa commented while a thought suddenly crossed her mind. Not too brilliant but anything to help her poor bestfriend. "Gosh..Aerith, maybe you should just forget the whole thing," 

"What do you mean?" Aerith blinked, giving Tifa a questioning look. 

"Quit from the newpaper group, Aerith," seriously Tifa suggested "Don't you see? You've been taking our school activities way too seriously for a _long time._ Get a life for a change," 

"I dunno," Aerith said bluntly. "I'll think about it," 

"Good. While you're at it, hear out what I just dig about Cloud, " there was a sudden change in Tifa's tone which sounded like she was about to tell something really _interesting_. 

"Cloud who?" it wasn't the response Tifa expected. 

"Omigod! You REALLY don't have a life," she made a gesturing and then repeated. "Cloud Strife. The new boy in school. My age, blonde, drop dead gorgeous. You should check out his awsome haircut. Cloud is in my Karate class," 

"What about him?" Aerith remembered Tifa's gossipping on Cloud recently. 

"Unfortunately the guy is an absolutely nutcase and isn't the friendly type either," Tifa eagerly broke the bad news. "Rumours say that Cloud is seaching for something called the 'light'. The wierdo has been dreaming something about dark, heartless villians invading the universe! Isn't he out of the ordinary?" 

"You're right!"Aerith began to show some interest."This could make a good story!" 

"Sheesh!" she shrugged, placing her palm on her forehead. "You're hopeless!" 

**** 

On the next morning in the gang's hideout, Seifer, accompanied by Squall were examining their preparations to steal the gallery's paintings. Seifer had been up all night, exploring their plan, the museum's map, Aerith's notes, the town's security and defense mechanismes, strategies and other extra possibilities that may interfere their mission. Later, Zidane joined them, ready for the day's adventure. 

"Hey, guys. Don't cha think its 'bout time we give a name for our group?" Zidane asked in excitement. "Does 'Tantalus' sound good to you?" 

"Whatever," Squall answered reluctantly while Seifer ignored Zidane completely. 

"Tantulus huh? That would make a good 'WANTED- Tantulus: Dead or Alive' poster," Zell suddenly appeared with the rest of the group -Rinoa and Yuffie. Everyone had finally awaken. 

"And according to these notes, we know who'll be handling the gallery's transportation, " Squall explained to Seifer who wasn't paying attention to the Zidane and Zell. 

"Excellent," the group leader said. 

"Gee..Seifer. If you sent ME into the museum, you'll get more than just a couple of lousy notes," Zidane chimed in from behind Seifer. 

"Correct! Zidane will get the girl!" Yuffie was referring to Aerith, the attractive girl they didn't have the chance to run into except for Squall yesterday. 

"Wow, you're quick, kid," Zidane smirked before turning to Squall. "You taught her real good, man," 

"But tough luck, Zidane, " Yuffie added on purpose. "Because Squall gonna get her first!" 

"Yuffie! What on the earth are you talking about?" Squall growled, a little suprised with the young girl's statement. "Come on, time for your training," 

"Wait a sec, guys. Don't you wanna come to Gold Saucer- the Hallow Bastion's annual carnival?" Rinoa interjected before Squall could drag Yuffie away. "Great stuff they have there I heard. Seifer & I won't miss.." 

"Bad news, luv. Seems like I need some plan-restudying to do. This could take the whole day, Rinoa," Seifer lied._ I need some SLEEP! _He said to himself and glanced slightly at her. "You have to go with someone else," 

"Want me to save your day, Rinoa?" Zidane stretched his arms wide open, eyeing the beautiful damsel appreciatively. 

"Don't count on it!" she scowled. 

"Don't look at me," Zell snapped with a crooked smile. "There's no way I'm babysittin' her," 

"Nobody asked YOU, chicken wuss!" Rinoa barked, giving him a murderous glare while his nostrils flared. "Shoot! I might as well go alone," 

"No," Seifer objected. 

"Aw.. I can take care of myself, Seifer," Rinoa said as reassuringly as she could. 

"Not this time, babe," Seifer insisted. "Squall, watch her for me and don't try anything funny," 

"Whatever.." Squall looked away nonchanlantly. _This might be a fine way to start a dull day anyway._

"I'm coming too!" Yuffie anxiously dashed after him who was already setting off for the door. 

"Darn, now you want me to stick with Mr Psyco?" Rinoa snarled sternly. There was something about the lone wolf's attitude that put her off. 

"Oh, c'mon, Rinoa," Yuffie tried to lighten her spirits and attached herself to Squall's arms in the process. "We gonna have a _great time_!" 

"_Great time.._" Squall echoed without even realizing it. 

It took an hour for them to arrive at Gold Saucer. Apparently, the trio could see Hallow High a mile away from there. No wonder the carnival was crawling with people- school kids especially. It was more crowded than Squall expected. He let Rinoa and Yuffie took the rides and refused to join them eventhough how much they convinced him to. Squall rather watch them hollering and whooping, waving their arms and listened to their joyous squeals. 

Not far from them was a candy stand, swarming with delightful customers. And beside the busy store was a pink striped tent belonged to the needy Aerith and Tifa. 

"It's been two hours and we don't have a single customer yet!" Tifa frowned as she glanced over at their signboard-_ [Feeling down lately? Need help? No one to turn to? Get a private session our best psychologist today!]_. 

"We _heal _people, Tifa. I don't see anything wrong with it," Aerith protested. The word 'heal' explained a lot about her. The two friends were in charge of a messaging booth last year. This time Aerith determined to organize a much more 'noble' service for the carnival. 

"Let just say only a nutcases require our service. At least that what the public think," Tifa seethed again, her voice sounded like giving up. She added a joke to cheer herself up. "I bet Cloud is willing to be our first client. Don't you think so, Aerith?" 

"I'm no terapist," Aerith protested, a little dissapointed that Tifa too was beginning to get the wrong idea about their booth. But it was undeniable that Tifa also did had a point. "That does it! Tifa my friend, this time grab whoever pass by our tent. We'll show 'em what we're made of!" 

"Now you're telling," Tifa agreed with her aggresive suggestion. Aerith proceeded back inside the tent as Tifa scanned the area. She witnessed a group of friends passing by- a girl in a blue dress together with a tall broad-shouldered guy and a short-haired little girl. 

"Welcome to our booth! Our service involves talking privately about your problems and learn how to deal with them. You can't miss it!" Tifa grabbed Rinoa who happened to be the closest to her. "Don't worry. Everything we talk about here is confidential," 

"Do I look like a maniac to you?" Rinoa was enraged and shoved her away. Then she grinned as she looked over Squall "Hmm.. Mr.Psyco definitely suits here well," 

"Oh, that's magnificent. Come! Come!" Tifa mouthed with a lilting tune. 

"H-hey!" Tifa and Rinoa gave the puzzled Squall a boost towards the tent before he had opportunity to stop them. Yuffie sauntered in behind them. 

Inside, the first thing that greeted their eyes was silly woman dressed in classic gypsy-like costume. 

" Welcome mah first blessed dearest client!" she spoke. And the four youths fell over-anime style. 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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**End note: **Gomen again for the typing errors. Please REVIIIEEWW, minna!! XD 


	5. Chapter 5: Heal The Lion

**Author's note:** (Skip this rant if you don't know what I'm talking about :P)   
Hmm..It's been a while, months I think. I took a long break from this fic because I felt I didn't deserve to be in the Kingdom Hearts fanfic community. Amazing fics such as 'Project Trinity, 'You Don't Care' & other honorable mentions put my fic into shame. I love those stories, they inspire me to write. I do know my fanfic has a story, I know exactly what's going to happen next. I just don't have the talent to put it into impressive words like the other ficcers do. ~_~ Not to mention my ugly grammar. 

I'm adding this chapter because I couldn't stand the guilt when a few very nice people asked me to continue this story :). And also because this IS the chapter where Squall gets his new name ^_^ 

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**LEON AND AERITH: The Untold Story** ****

**Chapter 5: Heal The Lion******

  
"What in the name of Shin-Ra was that all about?!!!" Tifa demanded, slightly embarrassed with Aerith's freak show. Anger was clearly written in Tifa's face and Aerith innocently muttering some soft apology. 

"Tehee.. that was soo cool!" a giggle from the naive Yuffie interrupted them. 

"Look, I thought our client would appreciate a nice gimmick for a change," Aerith explained politely, taking off the fancy gypsy costume. Squall and Rinoa recognized the girl instantly as the costume was completely removed. 

"Its you!!" Rinoa gasped without thinking, pointing directly at Aerith. Aerith turned, almost jumped backward when her eyes landed on the attractive boy she ran into yesterday. She managed to get a grip on herself and turned to Rinoa. 

"Um..I'm sorry but do I know you?" Aerith asked calmly, taking her eyes off Squall. 

"You will soon," Rinoa answered, eyeing on Squall, who was still shocked to see Aerith again. 

"Okay, Aerith will take it from here. Thanks for helping out," Tifa instructed Rinoa and Yuffie to leave the booth, leaving Squall and Aerith alone. Rinoa took a quick glance at the two. She hated to baby-sit Yuffie alone but this was an opportunity she didn't want to miss- seeing the annoying Mr.Psyco made a fool out of himself in front of Aerith. 

"Uh..please. Have a seat," Aerith told Squall. They awkwardly took their seats, facing each other. A long silence overtook them. 

"Well?" Squall finally spoke, almost forgotten how did he got here. Aerith laughed softly to herself, realizing how silly she acted at this moment. 

"Before I begin, could I at least know your name?" Aerith smiled, somewhat happy to hear his voice. 

"My name is Sq.." Squall paused, recalling Seifer's warning not to reveal himself too much, although he assumed Aerith was harmless. She didn't look like a spy that might ruin their plan but Squall had to play safe. A vision popped in his mind- a painting of a lion Aerith and him saw back at the museum. "Call me Lio... LEON," 

"_Leon.._" Aerith repeated. " That's a nice name. I'm Aerith. I'm here to listen to your uh.. problems," 

"Problems?"   
  
"Ah, dang! That sounds stupid. I mean if you have anything you'd like to share, anything you're not comfortable sharing with other people, I'm here to help, "Aerith added. "Everybody has problems, Leon," 

Squall thought of it for a moment. He wouldn't call all his sufferings a problem. He remembered Zidane and the others referred him as a guy with problems just Squall didn't talk as much as them. But Squall did know that he always wanted to tell somebody how empty his life was, how he was beginning to hate the crimes he had to face. He talked about it to Yuffie once, but how can a nine-year-old girl could truly understand him? 

"Thanks for the offer but I don't need anyone to pity me," Squall remarked. 

"Oh no. It isn't like that at all. What I mean is, if you need anyone to turn to at this time..." Aerith realized this was going nowhere. Maybe she wasn't really ready for this. 

"You're a newbie at this, aren't you?" Squall smirked. 

"Yes," Aerith responded, looking downward. _Shoot! He must think I'm an absolute idiot._ "If only I didn't lose the notes, they wouldn't kick me out from the newspaper group," 

Squall's eyes widened. It was his fault! Aerith was dismissed from club because he stole her notes the other day. _But why would the information about the museum be that important for the school? Maybe it wasn't important at all. Maybe some jealous member of the group used that opportunity to get rid off poor Aerith._ Or maybe Squall was just trying to comfort himself with those assumptions. 

"Hey, don't look at me like that, "Aerith exclaimed. "I don't need anyone to pity me,"   


**TO BE CONTINUED.......**

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**End notes: **I decided to write very short chapter before it gets too dumb >_ Thank you all who submitted your kind reviews. They mean a lot to me. :)   
  



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